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They were all there.

Of course they were.

Zarek looked up the second he saw me. Relief flashed across his face.

“Okay,” he said gently. “Now that you’re back, I can explain to Zoe why she’s here.”

Zoe sat on the arm of the couch like she owned the place. “Hi,” she said cheerfully. “Don’t kill your husband. Yet.”

I walked into the small room, and leaned against the wall with the fake fireplace. “Okay, start explaining it to her.”

Zarek did.

Quick. Efficient. No dramatics.

He talked about the Memphis timeline. The need for visible leverage. The reality that they didn’t need to take me—just prove they could.

Zoe listened quietly.

Then she nodded.

“You’re absolutely right. I should definitely take Chloe’s place,” Zoe said.

I gave her a death glare. “Absolutely not.”

She met my gaze, unflinching.

“Chloe, admit it—this is my lane, not yours.”

“I don’t have to admit a thing.”

“Quit being stubborn,” she snapped. “You’re cutting your nose off to spite your face.”

“It’s my nose. He’s my husband. It’s my problem.”

I winced as soon as the words were out of my mouth. I turned to Zarek. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “You might not have, but it’s the truth. But here we are, and I want us to make all the smart moves we can from this point forward.”

I looked at him, then over at Zoe.

“Remember the cabin?” she asked softly.

The memory slammed into me.

Girls tied up. My friends. Zoe’s friends. A man who was going to kill all of us who were there.

A man I’d killed to survive.

“I wasn’t there,” Zoe continued. “I’d run off to make out with some idiot and didn’t even know what almost happened. But you were there, you took care of it. You saved lives that day. You were… You are… a hero.”

My throat tightened.

“Let me do this,” she begged softly. “Let me balance the scales just a little.”

The fight drained out of me in a rush.

Not gone.